Free People
by KaiserKold
Summary: It is the 3rd Age. The Covenant are combing the galaxy for their precious Forerunner's artifacts and absorbing or destroying any species they come across. Now they find a new planet with a new, seemingly primitive species that call themselves Lekgora...b
1. Chapter 1

"FREE PEOPLE"

Chapter One

I do not own Halo. It is the proporty of Microsoft and Bungie Studios.

Thousands of stars twinkled, like brilliant white eyes, in the dark vastness of space. SangheiliShip Master Lika 'Janamee watched them from the command deck of the _Inevitable Justice_. He watched them, of course, from a holographic video panel, for the command deck was deep in the center of the ship. 'Janamee had spent nearly all his life in space, and yet he could not help but be drawn in to the incredible display the stars and galaxies painted across the universe. An exceptionally brilliant nebula caught his eye; it swirled and twisted with brilliant reds and oranges.

"Preparations are finished. We await your direction, sir," spoke another Sangheili, Eter 'Dametorne, the ships navigator. "May your unending prowess be a beacon for us."

The _Inevitable Justice_ was a scout ship used to chart out unexplored regions of space. They were always watching for a potential species to absorb into their ranks and, better yet, any new Forerunner objects. Lika 'Janamee's ship, large for its size and with a deep purple-blue tinge, was parked on a Covenant scout station and had just been restocked with supplies recently. It was fresh for takeoff.

It wasn't hard to find an unexplored area. This sector of space was mostly unexplored so far. The problem was deciding which direction to go; a job that required mostly just random choice. 'Janamee, still gazing inquiringly at the nebula that caught his eye, replied to the navigator.

"Engage slipspace cores and set a minimal speed course to the direction of the orange, spiral nebula north-east of our position." Several eyes now glanced toward the view screen the captain stared at. There wasn't any confusion of the nebula he spoke of. It was quite large and was the only one visible in that particular area.

"Of course, Ship Master," 'Dametorne affirmed. He then barked, in a guttural tone, a series of rapid-fire orders to the other crewmen.

'Janamee watched his men working furiously at their stations. It was a good crew, ready to do as commanded, or die trying. It was mostly just Sangheili, which he preferred; but there were some Kig-yar, small-built, bird-like creatures that possessed exceptional senses. There was one engineer. He floated about like a large fleshy balloon, fixing and studying everything he came across with his long, splintery tentacles. Both of these creatures were different from 'Janamee. Sangheili were tall, seven or more feet; they had purple-blue skin that covered their lean muscular bodies. Their legs bent twice, like a dogs, but ended in large hooves. From there heads, which sat on their long necks, protruded 4 small mandibles; instead of a bottom jaw. All of this, however,is nearly hidden by the layer of polished battle armor.

He stroked his mandibles unconsciously and peered back at the view screen. Something in his gut told him that was where they must go. He hoped his gut would not fail them.

Lika 'Janamee left the command center and headed towards his quarters. He had been busy non-stop for the last 3 days and was looking forward to some rest. After all, the ship would be in slip-space for the next several hours; there was nothing else to do but wait. He thought he heard the sound of heavy hoofsteps running, he stopped and listened through the walls but heard nothing more. He was almost to his quarters when he rounded a corner and slammed head on into Nao 'Lamaee, a newly enlisted, inexperienced young Sangheili soldier. He stumbled backwards into the cold metal wall; 'Lamaee fell to the floor.

"My deepest apologies, ship master," he stumbled to his knees and bowed his head, "I should have been watching where I was going."

"No," corrected 'Janamee, "you should have not been running around my ship. May I ask why you were doing so?"

"Again, I apologize, sir," 'Lamaee stammered hastily. "I was trying to catch up to some Kig-yar who stole my weapon back on the station. They ran aboard here and I've been trying to find them."

"By the prophets…" he whispered shaking his head. "And how, may I ask, where they able to take your weapon?"

"Sir, I set my rifle down to don my helmet. They came up from behind and took it."

"Vile beasts. They shame our Covenant. But you should keep an eye on your equipment. A warrior must be aware of his surroundings. Go to the armory and find yourself one of the rifles from the new crates, and try to keep a careful eye on this one."

"Yes sir, thank you, sir," he bowed again.

"Oh," said the ship master, "Also, if you catch those worthless little disgraces, you have my permission to destroy them personally. We need to show these insubordinate beasts who their masters are."

"Of course, sir," 'Lamaee acknowledged. "I will find them and break their scrawny necks."

'Janamee made the mandibular equivalent of a smile and walked past the soldier. He was growing weary of the Kig-yar scum. They've proven themselves worthy in battle, but do not like being under prophet and elite command. This is strange considering they joined the Covenant forces without opposition. Most of them seemed to jump at the chance, actually. They were strange, fierce creatures that would readily eat each other to avoid starving. However, they are useful to the Covenant and will remain apart of it; unless, of course, they one day rebelled or betrayed the Covenant. All species are a part of the Covenant; for those who refuse don't survive long enough to gloat about it.

'The ship master reached his quarters and began to tap a sequence of holographic buttons on the control pad. When the last button was pressed, the door was flooded with blue light and slid open. He was immediately greeted by the sight of his female, Brina 'Solool. Females do not usually travel with the warriors, but this was his mate, so he made an exception.

"Where are we headed to next, Lika," she inquired. "Are we headed back home yet?"  
"No," he answered, "We are making another search through one of new systems. If we don't find anything, I promise we will return to our home."

"Indeed…I want our offspring to be born on the Homeplanet," she noted, holding her abdomen, "It's not the norm to be raised on a starship."

"Hmmph," he grunted, "I was born and raised on the _Inevitable Justice_. I am fine, no?"

"Nonetheless…" she began.

"We will return home," 'Janamee finished. He laid a long fingered hand on his mates shoulder. "I would like to rest for a while; we will return to normal space in a few hours…"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Lika 'Janamee woke suddenly from a sound sleep. He looked at the console on the wall across from him and noted the time. The ship would most likely be leaving slip-space now.

"SHIP MASTER 'JANAMEE," boomed the communication system. It was the voice of Eter 'Dametorne. "WE HAVE RE-ENTERED NORMAL SPACE AND ARE DRAWING NEARER THE TARGET SYSTEM. PLEASE COME TO THE BRIDGE, SIR."

'Janamee stood up and flexed his powerful muscles. He put on his gold, decorated armor and headed to the command center.

When he arrived at the command center, 'Janamee was met by a barrage of "Welcome, sirs" and the usual genuflections.

"Sorry to wake you, sir," 'Dametorne apologized, "But as I said, we are almost to the system. We've sent out our probes to the closer planet 30 minutes ago and are currently awaiting their return. I apologize for not consulting you first. I wished to let you sleep longer."

"You're doing well 'Dametorne," 'Janamee complimented his 2nd in command, "But you do not need to worry about me."

"Yes, sir," 'Dametorne replied, looking slightly embarrassed. He continued his duties.

'Janamee walked to the central view screen, where Daak was stationed. Daak was a Kig-yar; one of the few 'Janamee liked. Daak was the biologist of the _Inevitable Justice_ and he did this well.

"What is your opinion on these nearby planets, Daak?" 'Janamee asked the biologist.

'Janamee still had trouble comprehending some of the Kig-yar language, which consisted of screeches and hisses, but he thought he understood. "From what I can see, there are only 3 planets that have any atmosphere to speak of."

'Janamee clicked his mandibles together, "That's not good." The rest of the crew did not know of it, but the hierarchs were going to be quite angry with 'Janamee if they returned empty handed yet again. "Not good, at all…"

"No, the odds are not good but lets see what the probes bring back, sir, before we jump to conclusions," Daak squawked. "Besides, when _have_ the odds been good?" He smiled up at the Sangheili.

"Good point," he returned the smile. Several restless minutes crawled by, and the ship master inspected his crews more recent work.

"The probes have returned, sir," 'Dametorne informed, after some time.

"What are the results, Eter?" 'Janamee asked, the excitement showing in his tone.

"There is one life sustaining planet in the area. The dominant species is sentient and look very promising," 'Dametorne replied, and chuckle.

"How so?" wondered 'Janamee, intrigued. He walked over to the view screen that was replaying video footage taken from the probes.

'Dametorne said, simply, "See for yourself…"

He watched as the video showed vast and varied landscapes, ranging from dry deserts to lush rainforests. Then it showed them. They were huge; easily 12 feet tall, with some even larger. They were slender built and they almost had the look of a large worm. Their skin, which was wrinkly and lined, was bright orange on their bodies and grayish-black on their limbs. They wore no visible cloths and seemed extremely primitive…until he saw the metal work. 'Janamee watched in awe at the huge metal idols and temples that dotted the land. They were incredibly beautiful works of art; far beyond what you would expect of a primitive race. Some of the larger structures looked to be hundred of feet high. The video ended with a scene showing one of the creatures shaping metal with an enormous mallet.

"Incredible, isn't it?" 'Dametorne grinned. "They would make a wonderful addition to our armies. And they seem truly skilled with metal work."

"We will study this species' language and customs for a few days, and then we must introduce ourselves to them. I believe the prophets will be pleased with this discovery," stated 'Janamee.

"Yes, very," the Navigator agreed.

Several days went by while the _Inevitable Justice_ orbited the medium sized target planet. They learned much of their language by sending down spy probes and they downloaded the information into personal translators. The translators would be worn on the head and would translate the conversations with the aliens both ways. On day seven they set out to come face to face with the aliens for the first time.


End file.
